By MIKE U. CRISMUNDO
GINGOOG CITY – The province-wide information dissemination campaign
and clean-up drive went into high gear Friday as deadly mosquito bites
have already claimed the lives of 16 people while 962 persons were
hospitalized at various hospitals since January up to Aug. 31 this year
in Misamis Oriental alone, health authorities reported.
Misamis Oriental Gov. Oscar Moreno said he has already mobilized all
health personnel and other concerned departments of the province to
help prevent the spread of dengue-carrying mosquitoes.
However, Provincial Health Officer (PHO) Dr. Ignacio Moreno told the
provincial chief executive that the province is still far from reaching
the epidemic stage.
The heath officer said the national government can come in to intervene in an effort to prevent more casualties.
He said the PHO’s "Disease Surveillance Updates" are moving on a
round-the-clock basis just to monitor the cases and implement
corresponding medical response.
To date, Tagoloan town still has the most number of cases in Misamis
Oriental, with 238 cases and two fatalities, followed by this city with
129 cases and one death; Jasaan with 78 cases and one death.
Dr. Moreno attributed the rising number of dengue cases in Tagoloan
on its water supply, considering that most of the residents get their
water from deep wells.
In an effort to avert the further spread of the dreaded disease, the
provincial health officer mobilized a team that can be dispatched to
areas where cases are high and conduct round-the-clock monitoring.
